


The Devil and His Due

by ashleyoftheroses



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Original Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-07
Updated: 2017-12-07
Packaged: 2019-02-11 19:07:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12941772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashleyoftheroses/pseuds/ashleyoftheroses
Summary: A chance encounter with the man who pulls the strings leads two strangers to discover how far some people are willing to go to ensure their names are never forgotten, and how far they will go to change the past.





	1. A Friendly Proposition

Another tankard of dark ale was placed in front of an already tipsy bard. While he barely noticed (his fourth? fifth?), he still had to maintain a somewhat sober appearance. Drunken bards never made much on tips, and tieflings even less so. He had only been at the bar for a few hours as a favor to Charlie, the bartender, in hopes of providing some light entertainment to the roadside tavern. The Cliff’s Edge had been in it’s heyday years before as evidenced by the scars on the walls and bar itself, but now it sat mostly empty. Aromarth himself had visited in happier times when he first became acquainted with Charlie, once a friend, now his only contact with the world. After Aromarth’s breakdown, as he mildly put it, Charlie offered him the apartment above the tavern in exchange for some light musical interludes. On his good days he could bring in some gold. On his bad days he ended up in fights with broken teeth.

“You really ought to start playing,” Charlie said, while cleaning a tankard. “And your illustrious crowd would prefer something a bit more cheery than your usual tales of woe and sorrow.” He gestured over his shoulder to a dwarf and an orc sitting at a table with a pint each looking very intently at their playing cards, mostly ignoring the tiefling and his guitar. 

Aromarth picked up the ale and without looking at anyone in particular, began to strum the strings with his tail to appease his friend, but tonight did not seem to be a night for inspiration. Even though the drinks, he could feel a headache begin to form under his horns. He tried and tried not to remember what the alcohol loved to bring up but it became harder as the nights went on and the drinks kept pouring. The only sounds in the bar were the crackling fire and Charlie’s distant humming, but in his memories, he could hear the voice of his Xiomara laughing, calling him to bed, and the giggles of his daughter as she played with her toys in the yard-

He sighed, and finished his drink. “Unless you have a more attractive young lady behind that bar to entertain those gentlemen, I doubt either of us are getting tips tonight.” He paused, “But for a friend I will be taking requests if it’ll keep you from making me get a real job.”

Charlie laughed, a hearty laugh that proved he was in the right profession. “Ah you old bastard. How about the uh,  _ The Bear and The Maiden Fair _ ? That one always gets a tavern going even if it is rather empty.” Aromarth reached for another drink, but the barkeep was too quick. “Song first.” He quickly scooped up the empty tankards and moved to greet the group of cloaked newcomers walking into the bar. Aromarth eyed them over, he could be blackout drunk but it still couldn’t impair his senses for long. Too many years in a life he tried to forget left him with the ability to clock a threat in an instant. A gift that had saved his life on many occasions, but he now used it to keep bar fights from turning into burning buildings. 

The group that entered the Cliff’s Edge removed their cloaks, revealing themselves to be two elves and a gnome (a good set up to a joke later, he thought). The elves were slender and pale, like most he had encountered, with long brown hair tied back with intricate braids. They wore identical clothing, simple tunics with leather pants and light boots. Nothing terribly fancy, either poor or incognito. The only difference between the two being that one had a long, deep scar running across their throat. He couldn’t tell what gang they were with if any, but they were clearly related. Their movements mirrored each other as they scanned the room, the one with the scar pausing at him for only a moment. He also couldn’t see any open weapons (magic?), but they walked into the bar with purpose.

The gnome looked frazzled, literally, as if perpetually shocked by an invisible lightning bolt. Surprisingly thick salt and pepper hair stood out from his small head and around pointed ears revealing a thin pair of glasses on his face. It’s always hard to age gnomes but this one looked young, despite the coloring in his hair. His fingers fidgeted around his pack at his side, as if he couldn’t wait for an opportunity to start a fight. Something about the smaller races made them quicker to fire in any fight than he’d ever seen. The gnome walked briskly in front of his elven companions and straight to the bar, climbing up one of the stools to place himself right in front of Charlie. 

“What’s the house speciality?” the gnome asked in a surprisingly deep voice with a thick accent. Charlie cocked an eyebrow as the two elves quietly took their places next to him. Aromarth turned and tuned his guitar while keeping an eye on his friend. They group had yet to make a move that was threatening, but their presence demanded something, something he wasn’t sure he wanted to find out.

Charlie turned and reached into a corner of the shelf with an unmarked blue bottle, bringing it down while placing a glass on the counter. “For your friends as well?” he asked as he poured.

“Nah, but how about one for the other table and your entertainment as well?” He slapped five gold pieces on the counter, making the other patrons heads turn. Charlie smiled, and brought out three more glasses, carefully glancing at his friend to see if he expected any trouble. Aromarth shook his head and Charlie continued without skipping a beat. The gnome happily threw back the drink without even asking what it was while the elves began surveying their surroundings. Aromarth began to softly play  _ The Bear and The Maiden Fair _ , while Charlie went to the other table where the dwarf and the orc accepted their drinks gratefully, but quickly went back to their game, seeming to ignore most of their surroundings. 

The gnome with a grin that stretched across his whole face set another two pieces of gold on the counter. “On such a night like this I’m feeling frisky. How about another barkeep?”

Charlie began to smile. “How can I refuse such generous patronage?” He poured another, again stealing a glance at his friend, but seeing no warning smiled warmly. “Don’t think I’ve seen any of you around here. Where you traveling to?”

The elf without the scar turned and spoke for the first time. “Somewhere far, with many stops along the way.” They spoke in a low, cool voice, as if to speaking to someone long gone. Charlie opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by the other elf.

“Farther still we have to go, but we know of one who can help us along.” Their voice sounded eerily similar to the first elf, but more strained. Probably something to do with that scar on their neck, thought Aromarth. 

The gnome, who was greedily slurping his drink during the elves statements, quickly put it down. “Thats right!” he said with great excitement. He slammed his hands on the counter and pointed a small finger at Charlie. “We need to talk to your man over there!” 

The soft guitar music immediately stopped and all eyes turned to the tiefling on the stage. His tail began gently whipping around his legs, an involuntary interpretation of a threatening situation. The entire tavern was silent for what seemed like minutes, broken only by Charlie’s loud laughter. The gnome and other patrons snapped back to his attention, but the piercing eyes of the elves never left Aromarth’s face. 

“I can’t think of a single reason you’d need the assistance of a drunk tiefling who can’t even play guitar half as well as he drinks.” He laughed again, but was joined by the laughter of the gnome in front of him. He stopped, but the gnome kept going, as if he had been told the world’s funniest joke. Tears began to squeeze from the corner of his eyes and he slapped his thighs, shaking with laughter. The table behind him was staring at him, a look of unsurety crossed between them, while Charlie nervously looked between the faces of the two elves on either side of him, whose faces had not left Aromarth.

“Oh,” he cried, wiping tears from his face,”oh now that’s rich. Now, now, now it sounds like you don’t know who that is!” He started to shake like he was going to start laughing again, but composed himself slightly. “And besides! We don’t mean any harm with your man! We just want a conversation! Nothing bad can come of that, can it?” At the last sentence, he brought out the bag at his side, very clearly full of gold, and a roll of paper he unrolled to reveal a wanted poster with Aromarth’s face drawn in the center.

The two elves finally broke their gaze and turned to the other table. “Leave,” they said in unison. The orc went wide eyed for only a second, before obediently turning on her heel and leaving into the night. Her dwarf friend, seeing that this was a losing battle, followed faster than dwarf legs should have been able to carry him. The two elves stood at the same time and moved towards the door, locking everyone inside. They turned around and lit their hands in flames. The gnome motioned to Aromarth to sit next to him. Charlie, keeping a surprisingly calm composure moved away from the gnome towards the end of the bar. 

“Sit my friend, sit!” said the gnome again tapping the barstool. The sound of hooves on the wooden floor was the only noise filling the room as Aromarth walked towards a threat he had never encountered before. He sat obediently, his eyes not leaving the wanted poster bearing his resemblance. “Now, I need your help my friend. You have some skills that could be of use to my partners and I.” The elves took one step forward, hands still glowing. 

“You don’t seem like the kind of man open to negotiations.” Aromarth remarked. “And even less open to people who tell you no. But you already know who I am, and what I am capable of, so I will ask you once. What do you want?”

“A man of action! You see, I told you he was the right choice!” The gnome laughed, clapping his hands together in excitement. “What I need from you is simple. My associates and I represent the interests of some of the minor lords of Highever. We have been contracted to be rid of the interests of one Baroness Portia Breigan. Sabotaging her assets, burning crops and so forth. All we need from you, is the final step,” he paused for effect, “making it look like an accident!”

Aromarth blinked and quickly shook his head. “Excuse me?” He looked around the room again to try and spot an escape. The elves were still a step in front of the door and Charlie was standing behind the bar looking terrified. He looked back towards the gnome, who was tapping his fingers on the poster.

The gnome held out his hand to shake, “You are the man for the job are you not?”

“What happens if I say no? Something bad I imagine?”

The gnome laughed. “I’ve already told you the lords of Highever know who I am yes? I don’t think you would like the inside of a jail cell when you’ve so clearly set up a nice life for yourself in this greasy tavern.” The sound of a bottle leftover from the quick departure by the orc being tipped over by one of the elves broke the staredown, making Charlie jump. Their twin followed behind with a bottle pulled from their cloak being poured over a random table near the stage. They admired their work and then returned to staring at the bar, hands aglow. “And of course, you don’t seem like the type with anything to lose.” 

Weighing his options, Aromarth stood up, poured himself a drink and looked at the gnome. “Who told you about me?”

“A mutual friend. Says that you were one of the best before you fell off the wagon.”

He threw back the drink. “And your name?”

The gnome smoothed his vest and offered his hand again.  “Thermwhistle. Godric Thermwhistle,” he said, clasping his hand and shaking the tiefling’s enthusiastically. “Are you on board?”

Aromarth looked back at his only friend, and looked to the gnome. His own face stared back at him from the poster on the bar,  and he heard his voice say the word, “Yes.” 

The gnome smiled that wide, terrible grin again. “Excellent.” A flash of purplish arcane energy surrounded the two of them and just as suddenly, they were outside in the autumn air. Aromarth looked back at the tavern’s window just in time to see the two elves light their arms ablaze and slam them into the dry wood of The Cliff’s Edge. In a moment, faster than it should have been, the entire building began to burn in a brilliant blaze, with Charlie trapped inside. Aromarth began to run towards it, Charlie’s screams filling his ears, but in an equally brilliant flash, the two elves were on either side of him, cementing him in place. Godric circled around to his front and nodded, causing the two elves to force their captive to his knees. Godric dropped the bag of gold in front of him and leaned in close.

“You’ll need someone with inside information,” he said, “I know a woman who owns a shop, whose bloodlust has impressed even me, with all of the information you need. Find her, bring that to her and you’ll be on your way. If this is not done by three days time, what has been done here will be seen as a kindness. Ta!” He straightened his vest, pulled another cloak out of his bag, and waved his hand, his elven companions releasing their hold. The three of them started to walk away, but one of the elves hesitated.

The elf with the scar on their neck turned to face the shocked Aromarth, still facing the flames. Lit by the moonlight and burning building in front of him, he crumbled, and they saw him start to cry. They began to approach him as quietly as they could. They knew he couldn’t see them, he was too distraught, so they gently laid down the guitar they saved next to him.

“Dorthyra!” Godric called. They turned and quickly caught up to their twin, falling back in step. Pulling out two more cloaks from their bags, the three of them disappeared into the night as suddenly as they had arrived. 

Aromarth had no idea how they found him, but knew exactly what they wanted. He had no idea what would happen if he failed them, but he was very familiar with the kinds of torture they liked in Highever. He looked up at the building that had been his home for the last two years as the sounds of the last person who believed he could be a good person fell quiet, and slowly stood to his feet. He turned to leave, but looked down and saw to his surprise that one of the elves (Dorthyra he called them) had saved his guitar. Not only saved, but returned to him. Why? He carefully took the guitar in his hands, and saw a sliver of paper caught in between the strings. The wind threatened to carry it away, but he was just fast enough to catch it before it blew into the fire consuming everything he had. In the middle of the night with fire burning behind him, Aromarth read the single word written in cursive script on the paper:  _ “Ymara _ .”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi all! this is my first work here on aof so i'd love to hear what you guys think! you can find me on tumblr at crownofbluestars.tumblr.com or instagram at @ashleyoftheroses. come say hi!


	2. Forgotten and Remembered

The sound of the door chimes startled the orange tabby cat laying on Maggie’s chest. Callie yowled and pounced off of the sleeping halfling and onto a nearby bookshelf, knocking over two volumes in the process. One eye slowly opened just in time to see the head of a skeleton with a large green jewel in it’s eye socket begin to teeter over the edge.

“Shit!” she scrambled from her blanket fort to try and catch the artifact, just barely catching it before it shattered to the ground. She stood up and stared at the green jewel before recognizing it. “Hey aren’t you just glass? Callie, you know this is glass right? And Mother still would have killed me if you had broken it?” She looked back at the now fully attentive cat giving all its attention to it’s morning bath. “Ugh, you useless little beast.” 

“ _ Psst! Mags! MAGGIE! _ ” A voice whispered from the front of the store in a hoarse tone. It was deeper than her sister’s, plus Rhea was on assignment with Mother, so that just left-

“ _ MAGGIE! _ ”

“Oh please tell me Bruno that you did not break into my store at this gods forsaken hour because you got too drunk and are now hiding from the guard?”

“ _...something like that. _ ”

Maggie walked around the counter with arms crossed, Callie in tow, to see Bruno, a dwarf who could be argued to be her best friend (and occasional lover) but was reasonably a nuisance she kept around to tell her stories to, cowering underneath the window of the front door, out of breath and slightly panicked. She sighed as she rubbed her eyes with the sleeves of her robe. “Get behind the counter, I’ll check for the guards.”

The dwarf hurriedly scurried in the direction he was familiar with and hunkered even lower to the ground. Carefully walking as her beloved Callie weaved in between her feet, Maggie cracked the door open ever so slightly to see two of the city guards making what appeared to be their morning patrol. She listened carefully, and heard absolutely zero warning bells from the watch tower and they were talking about, the polish they use on their uniforms? Worthless. 

She brought her head back in, “I really ought to at least charge something for how often you use this place as a private hiding spot. My mother hates it, you know.” She started to open the curtains, letting in the early morning light as Bruno began picking himself up in the background. Callie decided to make herself comfortable on her usual bed on the counter, and Maggie heard her start to purr as Bruno rubbed a spot under her chin. Maggie continued without turning around, “But if you’re here then where is-“

“Nola? She was right behind me but we had to split up. Harder to catch two when they start running in different directions eh?” Bruno laughed, but hurriedly stopped when he saw Maggie was less amused. “Anyways, she knows we always end up here, she’ll be along shortly. Hard to miss a woman that big!” He began to chuckle again as Maggie took his overcoat, to reveal the holy symbol on top of his clothes. 

“I’d ask what it is you’re running from this early in the morning but I’m almost certain you’d tell me it had something to do with a dragon or a bear or some equally stupid creature so I’ll just wait for Nola to get here.” Maggie threw the coat on a nearby rack, turned from the door and began a daily ritual Bruno had seen many times before. She walked up three stairs to the room in the shop filled with tomes and history books, fantasies and romances, and her favorite spell books all in the heart of the small library. She covered her eyes with a small hand and spun around a few times, the worn robe twirling around her like a dancer’s gown. She opened her eyes, grabbed a random book with two hands and brought it down from the shelf. She blew some dust off of the cover and read, “ _ The Tale of Sir Cicero _ . Have I read this one before?”

“Mags you’ve read everything in here at least twice.”

“Yes, but have I read  _ this one _ recently?” She began flipping through the pages, not finding any recently dog eared pages. 

“Not that I can think of. The one from yesterday was about the boat right? Some gold plated nonsense?” Bruno attempted to move behind the counter before being hissed at by Callie. 

“ _ The Golden Fleet _ . A whole army of boats sailing across oceans to learn all about strange new cultures and the people they found all while having high stakes adventures on the high seas!” A far off look came across her face, but was shaken off as quickly as it arrived. Had he not known her as well as he did, Bruno would have guessed that she was perfectly content just describing and reading about other people’s fantastic adventures, but he couldn’t do anything about that today so he smiled to himself. With the book in her arms, she took her place behind the counter and placed the book flat on its surface. She began to open it before a loud coughing noise caught her attention. Bruno was making some kind of motion, looking her up and down. 

“Yes?” she asked. 

“Something’s off about this picture,” he said, walking up to her stool. She raised an eyebrow as he brought his face closer to hers, and leaned down for what she thought would be a nice good morning kiss. 

“You need real clothes to work the counter Mags,” he whispered in her ear. 

“RIGHT.”

She jumped off of her stool and made her way to the back room where more bookshelves lined the walls and the skull Callie had almost graciously knocked over greeted her among other useless treasures. She made her way to her trunk, finding a reasonable outfit, a flowy blouse with some leather trousers. Thick, worn leather boots were at the foot of her bed where she left them, and her favorite hair comb on her nightstand. Looking into a small mirror, Maggie carefully wrapped her curly brown hair into a loose bun, securing it with the comb. After deciding this was satisfactory, she came back out to a round of applause from Bruno. She posed a few times, laughing, and crawled back onto her stool. She went to open the book again but was interrupted once more by the ringing of the door chimes. 

A tall orc woman walked through the door, her hair tied back in a neat braid and a matching holy symbol around her neck with a piercing gaze that swept the entire shop once over. She closed the door behind her and said in a deep voice, “You would not believe the shit we went through last night.”

“If you say dragon I will kick you both out right now.” Maggie stated firmly. 

“At least that would be realistic,” said Nola, taking a seat on the stairs next to Bruno. “Did you tell her?”

“No fucking way she’d believe me,” he said. “Last time I told her in all honesty that we’d been chased by a rakshasa through the streets and I had the scars to prove it-“

“And I cleaned them up to find they were some bar girl he’d gotten too friendly with. I trust you Nola, Bruno’s just here to make sure Callie has some target practice.” Maggie smiled, petting the cat with one hand and the other holding her chin. “But seriously, what did happen? He ran in here like a bat out of hell. Aren’t clerics supposed to be on the right side of the law?”

“They’re supposed to be.” Nola said as she reached to grab the dwarf in a headlock, “But I suppose exceptions can be made.” She tousled his hair for a bit until he finally wiggled his way out, grumbling something about how he had just gotten it done. Nola reached to her pouch for some breakfast and began to tell the story. 

“We were at the tavern last night, remind me again why you weren’t there?”

“Mother and Rhea said that someone’s been asking around again. Had to make sure the place doesn't get ransacked you know?”

“Fair enough. Anyways we were out at the Cliff’s Edge playing cards and indulging a few vices. The musics about to get going, it’s pretty late but in walks this gnome and these like elf twins?” She paused, sharing the square of bread with her dwarven companion, “At first we thought they were alright, even bought us a drink. But then they started calling out the music right? Saying that nothing bad can happen from a conversation and that’s where it got weird.”

Bruno cut in, “The elves looked at us with these glowing eyes and said that we needed to leave. Immediately. So naturally I, as a person who likes living, decided to just do what they said and just started running. Nola ran behind too, but I’ve never seen anyone have a look quite like that.

“Before we knew it, we were out the door and there was smoke behind us, like a lot of it. We turned and no shit the whole building was going up in smoke! Poof! We started running faster but suddenly we hear these footsteps right? And there’s the fucking gnome and his croony elves coming right at us! We tried to hide on the side of the road but gigantor here made that a little difficult.” Nola reached down for another headlock at the sound of a less than fond nickname, but Bruno expected it and deftly deflected her move. He stood up to continue his story. 

“Anyways, we stayed quiet for a while thinking that maybe they weren’t the no survivors type right? So we’re laying there in the dirt, when Nola here spots some horses at a farm a little bit away. I looked over at her and using my wily wits, took that risk and boom! Now we have horses and we’re not dead!” Bruno beamed, holding out his hands with his big finish, to see both Nola and Maggie wearing identical incredulous expressions. 

“Is that why A, you split up and B, why you rushed in my shop at the crack of dawn? You’re horse thieves now?” Maggie asked, rubbing her temples with her fingers. 

“I do have every intention of returning them once it gets dark and we run less of a risk of getting recognized.” Nola explained. “We just didn’t feel like dying at the hands of pyromaniac elves you know?”

“Remind me to put that on my grave.” said Maggie. “And to lock my door tighter at night.” She looked down at the cover of the book that, realistically she would probably not be reading today and put her feet up on the counter. “So there’s a homicidal gnome going around now? Anyone I probably have in the book?” She waved her hand under the counter to reveal a safe hidden by magic, pricked her finger on a sewing needle she probably should have put away earlier, and began to unlock the safe with a few drops of her blood.

“Your mom meets a lot of people Mags. In the literal and biblical sense, but if he’s been around before, I don’t think I’ve seen him.” Nola chewed thoughtfully, “But, he didn’t mention any ties to a group or something. No one had any holy symbols, and he knew exactly who that tiefling was. Clearly someone who’s been around for a while.”

“Fuckin’ gnomes man. Those guys live forever and then they show up saying they haven’t seen me since I was this big.” Maggie indicated maybe two inches shorter than her already short height of three feet. She pulled a green leather bound ledger from the safe and placed it on top of the other now forgotten book. “You think he’s the one asking about the shop?”

“Could be. Does the book say anything?” Nola asked, Bruno fiddling with a trinket behind her. She leaned forward to rub Callie’s head, the cat graciously nudging back. 

“Let’s see, gnomes, gnomes, gnomes. Either of you catch a name or anything distinct?” Maggie flipped through pages hoping for some information to jump out at her. 

“Nothing but the elves Mags. Carrying a lot of gold so pretty well off, but nothing notable. Could ask Charlie?” Bruno finally managed to reach a small figurine of a woman on a high shelf as he finished his question. “What does this even do?”

Without looking at him Maggie said, “If you touch her left tit your beard falls off.” A heavy thud quickly followed, and what could be described as a manly shriek. Nola laughed and stood up to tousle Bruno’s hair. She stood the tallest out of the three of them without contest with Bruno coming in at her elbows, Maggie a solid foot below that. Even on sitting on her stool, she only came to maybe Nola’s chest. Standing on it she had a great view of her Adam’s apple. 

“Finding anything?”

“I’m quickly getting an idea of how many gnomes have either crossed or made quite the impression on my mother, but no mention of psychic elf twins. He could have been a one off just using that poor tiefling for whatever nefarious purposes people use tiefling’s for these days.” She closed the ledger and put it back, rehiding the safe with a quick spell she knew well. She frowned and shook her head. “Even if I could find it, it’s not like it matters. You guys are the ones allowed to walk outside town remember?”

Nola smiled and crossed behind the counter to kiss the top of Maggie’s head. “One of these days your sister will convince your mom that you’re not a menace to society and you can come out drinking without having to enchant the cat to look like a sleeping you. And when that day comes,” she knelt down so her head was on Maggie’s small shoulders, holding a hand in front of their faces, “I know of at least seven fields that could be burned to hell and are almost positively completely empty.”

Maggie laughed loudly, almost falling off her chair much to the enjoyment of Nola behind her, catching her effortlessly. Bruno, giving up on his snooping, came around to the front of the counter, smiling at the women he loved. Nola propped up her tiny friend back on her stool, who was still laughing at the thought of probably empty farmhouses and her very best friends standing next to her, cheering her on. She was still giggling as Nola nodded at Bruno and they both started to head towards the door. 

“And what ground shaking matter is on the agenda today? Besides hiding horses until sundown of course.” Maggie watched Bruno grab his overcoat, the sunlight shining in his red brown hair. He looked better with a longer beard, she thought to herself. 

“Usual temple things. Rumor has it you could be looking at one of the Bronze Griffons sometime soon.” Nola picked her head up at this, holding herself proudly with a fist over her breast. Maggie looked up at her noting the sense of satisfaction in her eyes and thought how brave and beautiful she looked. Nola looked back down to see her Maggie looking at her with adoration and she laughed. “The temple has been asked to send some of it’s best to try out for the royal guard. Bruno here probably won’t make it past round one, but the priests say that maybe I’ve got what it takes.”

Bruno jokingly elbowed her in the arm. “If she’s leaving to bigger and better things, you bet your tiny ass I’m following her and the first thing we do is drag you with us. Maybe the Griffons could use a librarian! A very tiny librarian!” He began to laugh loudly, before noticing he was being gently attacked by small crumpled balls of paper, followed by a very fat cat attacking his feet. 

Maggie laughed and crawled down from her barstool to say goodbye. “I don’t think I can make it to the temple today, but come by after dark and bring some of that church wine I like will ya?” Nola leaned down for a kiss on the cheek and Callie paused just long enough for Bruno to get the same. “You know where I’ll be!”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world Mags.” Bruno smirked. He leaned down to pet the cat currently eating his shoelaces, “Watch the store while we're gone won’t you?” 

The cat purred loudly as Nola opened the door, carefully nudging the it out of the way with her foot. “We’ll be back before you know it,” she said as she slid out the door, “Come by if you get bored!”

Bruno turned to the cat and said in a stern voice, “Sit.” Callie, maybe out of obedience but probably out of boredom, obliged. He smiled and blew a kiss, “See ya soon Mags!”

Maggie waved back as the door closed, the chimes sounding once again. She looked around at the shop she had been placed in charge of and sighed. Just like every day, she had been left alone with the random assortment of useless “artifacts” covering the shelves not already occupied by books, the one she had chosen for the day still sat on the counter facing her. She looked down at the cat patiently facing the door and walked towards her to scoop her up. She started to walk towards the small kitchen in the back, but briefly paused to turn around a sign in the window: “ _ Ymara Emporium of Magic, Now Open! _ ”

 


	3. The Road to Ymara

The early morning light shone through the cracks in the abandoned barn onto Aromarth’s dark red skin, causing him to stir. He’d managed to find a moth eaten blanket and an old pile of hay long since forgotten, but he had slept in worse places than this. At the very least there was a roof. He sat up, fully taking in the surroundings he hadn’t been able to see in the darkness of the night. The barn looked as though it had housed horses at one point, but wasn’t connected to a farm. No witnesses, he thought. The barn itself was breaking down, clearly old but it would be around for a few more years at least. He listened to the quiet, and only heard the sounds of birds above him and very distantly, the morning church bells of the town.

Aromarth stood, looking around him for anything that could work for a disguise. It was difficult to hide horns, but even more difficult now that he had lost everything to the fire. Everything, save for a guitar and a bag of gold. He thought back to what the gnome had said, about his reputation with the Company. Seven long years had passed without any contact and they send some asshole wanting to ruin everything in just one night. Even if he wanted to resist, the only thing that came from that was pain and loss. Whoever this Godric was, he was determined to get his job done, with or without him, and he did not seem the type to accept betrayal lightly.

The town was maybe half an hour’s walk, getting in would be easy. Finding what he was looking for with only a scrap of paper for a clue would be a challenge. If it was a person, it wasn’t anyone he recognized but the gnome said that they would have the information he needed. Cleary he respected this Ymara, the size of the bag made that obvious. Slinging the guitar on his back, and hiding the bag as best he could behind it, he stepped outside. The sky above him was mostly clear, the road to town empty. He looked down at the single word on the scrap of paper again, pocketed it, and began to walk.

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Two guards stood loosely at attention at one of the less populated entrance gates to Highever. Two guards, two gold, thought Aromarth. He continued walking towards them, hoping not to draw too much attention.

“Good morning gentlemen.” Aromarth nodded as he approached. The two guards glanced him over, looked at each other, and turned back to the tiefling at their gates.

“Do you have business here sir?” one of them asked. 

“I do in fact and perhaps one of you would be so kind to help me. I’m unfamiliar with the city and could use some help locating someone.” At this point, he reached into the bag and pulled out a single gold piece. “I would be very appreciative.”

The guards looked at the coin carefully, before one of them spoke up. “And um, who is it that you’re interested in this morning?”

Aromarth smiled, “I’m looking for someone named Ymara, perhaps you’ve heard of them?”

The first guard began to chew on his lip in thought, looking to the sky for inspiration, but the second guard almost immediately stood up straighter, he knew exactly who this Ymara was. “And what business do you have with the Lady Ymara?”

Aromarth stepped closer the the second, pulling a second gold coin from the pouch, placing both in the guard’s hand. He flashed a smile, yellow eyes aglow, “I’m an old friend, she moved without sending her forwarding address. Are you sure you don’t know where she is?”

The clearly nervous guard looked around and said in a low voice, “If you really want to find her, she keeps shop down off the market district. Blue door, near a fountain.” He stepped back, his friend looking confused but still understanding. He pocketed the coins, nodded, and said out too loudly, “Right, on you go.”

Aromarth smiled at the pair, thanked them, and kept walking. It had been a few years since he had walked the streets of Highever. Normally he stuck to smaller farming towns and Charlie’s bar, where albeit he did stick out quite a bit, but no one knew him there and that was the way he hoped to keep it. Looking around the city, no one seemed to recognize him, just regular people going about their morning like they didn’t have a care in the world. The market district the guard mentioned was closer to the center of town, which gave him enough time to fully take in the surroundings of the city. 

The smell of bread and fish hung in the air as he began to pass some of the small shops, making him realize he hadn’t eaten anything since last night. People walking around him doing their shopping, more conversations happening at the same time than he had heard all year. An older human woman pushed a flower cart onto the sidewalk as two children around her handed daisies to passersby. He continued walking before feeling a small tug at his shirt behind him. 

A third child, no more than three or four, held out a daisy in his small hand  to Aromarth and smiled. He was startled, and his face probably reflected it, but still reached down to take the white flower from the boy’s hand. The boy grinned a big toothy grin and ran back to join his siblings in their fun. Aromarth looked down at the flower, looked back at the children, and tucked the flower into his vest. A memory began to stir, but he quickly brushed it aside. He had a job to do, and finding this store would be the first real step to being rid of his lingering reputation. 

Passing the cart and turning a corner, Aromarth found himself on the outskirts of the open market. Vendors in their squares were still setting up their wares, fruits, woodworks, and an assortment of apparel all within his grasp. Even though it was early, some of the people he saw coming out of their homes a few streets back had started to take their places in the market, either as buyers or sellers. Most were busy with their work, but the few that were keeping an eye out for potential customers didn’t seem to mind his presence. With a few colorful exceptions, almost all of the vendor’s shops were covered by tall beige canopies without any particular markings, and none of them had a blue door. Even worse, there was no sign of a fountain anywhere in this market. 

Aromarth began to walk the outside border, taking in the layout of the market, while keeping an eye out for the name on the paper. The market was set up in a way resembling a wheel, with diagonal stone paths leading to the center. He circled around the different rows, noting most of their specialities, and ignoring some of the pushier merchants, but saw nothing related to a fountain. The path kept spiraling inward with the more luxurious wares becoming more evident towards the center, but at the heart of the market Aromarth found a green tent, embroidered with gold and dark green leaves and very faintly, the sound of running water coming from the inside. He cautiously opened the flaps of the tent and looked inside to see a human man summoning water from his hands and gently tending to what appeared to be his greenhouse.

“Are you lost?” said the man, turning to look at him. He could see now that the man was holding two small flowering plants in the crook of his arm, the other hand still summoning a small sphere of water swirling in his palm. 

“That depends,” Aromarth stepped fully inside the tent, “is this the fountain?”

The man smiled and set the flowers down on a bench, using the sphere to mist them and some of the nearby plants until it was fully dispersed. He wiped his hands on his apron and turned to his guest. “This place is called The Springs, but if you’re calling it that then you must be after the Ymaras.” 

Aromarth cocked an eyebrow, but still nodded. “Are you close to them then?”

The man laughed and held out a hand. “Ronaldo Horowitz, friend of the family. When they moved in, the younger girl kept calling me ‘The Fountain’ so the name stuck. Never interacted with a druid before I guess. When my dad died about a year ago, I kept the name but for those who know her they call my place ‘The Fountain!’” He shook Aromarth’s hand and turned to go back behind the counter. “Is she expecting you?”

“I was sent by a friend of hers, a Godric Thermwhistle?” Looking around the shop, it seemed like a whole forest had been transplanted into small pots and placed around the tent’s standalone shelves. He hadn’t met many druids, but the ones he had met were always very talented, this young man being a prime example. Looking closely, every shelf was carefully engraved with vines, complementing the designs on the pots placed on top of them. Within the beams holding up the tents, the wood had managed to grow beautiful wooden roses, with darkened leaves and delicate thorns. Even looking down, despite being on the same grey stone the entire city was made of, the floor of the tent was covered in the softest, greenest grass he had ever felt. 

Ronaldo let out a hearty belly laugh. “The only Ymara women I know well enough to say so don't have any friends, my friend. Just a long list of enemies and a shop full of trinkets.” He reached behind the counter for a large mug and warmed it with his hands, until both of them could see steam begin to gently rise, the smell of lemon and honey beginning to fill the air. “If you’re looking for them though, go down straight the third row, look for the green stones. Shop has a bright blue door, can’t miss it.” 

“You’re too kind.” Taking one last look around the shop, Aromarth turned to leave the tent before he was stopped. 

“You new to town?” Ronaldo took a sip from his tea, “I think I’d have noticed someone like you walking around the marketplace.” His smile was friendly, and he didn’t seem like he recognized the name Godric, reasonably he was just another merchant and it would probably be in his best interest to stay away from whatever dangers these Ymara’s held. 

“Just passing through actually. But it was nice to meet you Ronaldo.”

“Well, welcome to Highever! And nice to meet you too!” He called as Aromarth slipped through the folds of the tent. 

Glancing around, Aromarth saw that the first row of stones surrounding The Springs was green, but going further than that there was in fact a seemingly random selection of mossy green stones leading down another row of tents. Going down the row the druid pointed out, every few feet another mossy stone would be revealed. He continued back into the outer ring of the market to an alleyway marked with a faded sign saying, “ _ Third Street _ ,” and saw a relatively abandoned row of shops. 

While the marketplace was made of tents and vendors peddling their goods, this row of shops was eerily quiet. The buildings were made mostly of wood and stone, like most in Highever, but looking closely at the roofs there were, scorch marks? Even walking further down the row, the worse the marks seemed to be, but every one that had been marked was completely empty. No boards covered any windows but looking inside revealed that they were bare of any furniture or signs of life. Looking around, there was nothing to indicate whatever had done this was still active, but while the market and streets leading up to it were full of life, there were no signs of life anywhere except-

A bright blue door.

A bright blue door with a small sign in the window proclaiming, “ _ Ymara Emporium of Magic, Now Open!” _

Aromarth looked around him in the quiet, abandoned street, and walked towards the door. Pushing it open, the sound of a door chime announced his arrival, and he saw a small shop completely filled with every curiosity and oddity the most fanatic treasure hunter could ever dream of.

A dark wooden counter with an old cat bed sat in the center of the main room, with an unopened book laying next to it and a padded wooden stool behind that. Behind the stool was a velvet curtain covering a doorframe that probably led to a back room. Large jars full of what looked like newts and eyeballs sat on the other end of the counter, and looking around the shop it appeared that those jars were just one part of a vast collection scattered around on various bookshelves covering the walls of the small shop. A small set of stairs on the right led to a private library with the shelves leading up to the ceiling and a rolling ladder attached to a railing extending just past the shelving. On the left was more shelving, but instead of rows of books were individually tagged curios, each one more bizarre than the last. One shelf held various animal skulls, with the bones that were once attached conveniently in a bucket next to it. Another held a case lined with velvet carefully displaying gaudy pendants and rings with large multicolored jewels. On the carpeted floor lay a small stone figurine of a naked winged woman with her arms raised over her head, seemingly knocked off of her place from whichever shelf she belonged on. Every shelf and nook and cranny in this shop was filled, but looking at the wooden counter, it was completely empty.

Taking a few steps forward, the store lay still, but listening closely, Aromarth could hear the sounds of clinking silverware coming from the hall behind the counter, and the faint meows of a cat followed by a singular voice yelling, “ _ NOT EVERYTHING ON THE COUNTER IS A SNACK FOR YOU! _ ” followed by a louder, protesting meow. The voice began to get louder, the Lady Ymara was here, and with her cat no less.

A fat orange tabby cat pushed it’s way through the curtain, meowing at the person trailing it as it made it’s way to it’s bed on the counter. The voice was directly behind the curtain now. “You don’t even like berries! You really need to stop this habi-”

A small hand swept the curtain aside to reveal a halfling holding a bowl of orange berries. She stopped talking and opened her eyes wide, blinking fairly rapidly. The cat had settled down on it’s bed, but the halfling was very obviously scanning him over. She moved to the stool, placing the bowl on a lowered shelf behind the counter that she could reach, and began to climb to the top. Looking her over, she appeared to be no more than her early twenties, and she appeared to be alone.

“Are you looking for something Mister?” she asked. Her tone didn’t inflict any hostility, but she seemed confused at his presence in her store, despite the fact that it was a store and that’s what people do.

“This is a shop isn’t it? Seems like the kind of place people look for things.” He turned his head to look around at the shelves as if to make his point.

A pause in voice. “With what you’re carrying it looks like you’ve got something in mind.” He snapped his head at her accusation. Her feet were swinging from the stool and her head in her hands propped on her elbows. This is the woman with this profound fountain of knowledge and influence he was sent after?

She spoke again, “A man who carries himself like that is looking for something and I doubt it’s found on one of those shelves.” Her hand moved to the bowl of berries, bringing it up to the main counter and began to eat. “So what is it you’re after?” she asked, mouth full.

Aromarth gave a half chuckle. “And what is meant by ‘A man who carries himself like this?’” He gestured to his simple clothing as if to give the impression he was by no means dangerous.

She gestured with her spoon while still chewing, “Someone carrying that much gold who can’t be bothered to hide it that well,” she swallowed,” you’re lucky it’s early or you so would have been mugged.”

He reached behind him to feel the bag, and it was still there, and it was still reasonably hidden. Looking at the halfling, her vaguely curious expression hadn’t changed, but while one hand still held the spoon, the other was reaching for something under the counter. Using the same hand behind his back, he pulled a small dagger from his belt, just revealing the hilt so that she could see whatever she had under that counter, he would be prepared. 

Without flinching, she looked him in the eyes and said, “I wouldn’t make a move to kill the person you’re so clearly here to see bud.” The cat opened it’s eyes at her statement. “I’ll ask you one more time, what are you here for?” Both of them froze in place, him with a hand on a dagger and her with a hand on the unknown.

“Are you Ymara?” 

“You already knew that.”

“What’s under the counter?”

“Depends on how much money you get behind your back there.”

“So you’re a mercenary?”

“I don’t have all day for this, either you have my money or you’re wasting my time and you should turn right around. You know why you’re here so let's make this easy and you can be on your way.” Her hand was still unmoving under the counter, waiting for his response.

Still keeping eye contact, Aromarth slid the dagger back into its sheath and reached for the bag of gold. Moving cautiously, he placed the bag in front of her, and took two steps back, all while watching her next move.

The halfling used both hands to grab the large bag and pull out a few pieces. She quickly chewed on one and put them all back, tying the bag neatly, picked it up and shook it a few times. She pursed her lips, nodded, and threw it on the floor. “So mister, who are you looking for?” She motioned for him to take a seat on the staircase on her right as her hand went back under the counter.

The cat followed Aromarth with it’s eyes as he sat on the stairs. He watched as she pulled a large leatherbound green ledger from it’s hiding place and plopped it in front of her. She looked at him expectantly.

“I’m looking for information on a woman named Baroness Portia Breigan,” she began flipping with no flash of recognition, “and I was sent by someone named Godric Thermwhistle.” She raised an eyebrow and turned to look at him. “You’ve worked with him before haven’t you?”

She went back to flipping and not responding, the only sound in the room the pages turning faster and faster and faster until they stopped. She placed the book flat on the surface and turned it around to face him, beckoning him closer. He stood and moved to look at the book showing an entry broken down into extraordinary detail with “Portia Breigan” written in cursive at the top. He could clearly make out a drawing of the Lady herself, before the book slammed closed before him, the halfling patiently smiling.

“Before we continue…”


	4. You Have What I Need

Maggie looked up at the tiefling before her, so close to his goal and recoiling in frustration at the fact that her tiny hands held exactly what he was looking for. He looked as though if she fought him anymore he would kill her, but he had enough patience to only threaten her, not make a move. The guy carries himself like an assassin, but carries a guitar, a dagger and no jacket in the middle of autumn. Comes in with almost six hundred gold, and has no idea who he’s dealing with. Brings up Godric for some fucking reason, and probably thinks that I’m in charge too, she thought. Let’s play this out.

“Before we continue, you say Godric sent you?” She pulled the book gently back towards her.

The tiefling gritted his teeth but forced a smile. “He did, and made a point of saying I could trust you. A woman of your skill impressed him enough that he thought me worthy of your time.” He paused, considering his words. “And worth enough of his coin to send me here specifically.” Callie’s tail began to flicker around her bed, he was frustrated enough to set her on edge. 

Maggie tilted her head, considering his intentions. The gnome that Bruno and Nola mentioned had to be him, but he couldn’t be the one asking around about them, after all he was the one who got them set up in Highever five years ago. Not only that, but for as long as she’d known him she never knew of two elves following him around. He was ruthless, not as much as Mother of course, and while she knew they’d had their fun while they were together, Mother hadn’t mentioned him since they moved. And now he was after the Baroness Breigan, local lady, no kids with a mostly incompetent husband. They were minor leagues back in Malrune, the kind of lords that if they weren’t careful, got knocked off by some of the older families. Guess their time was up.

She opened the book back to the marked page and pushed it towards the tiefling. “Portia Breigan. Looks like in the last few years she ascended up to the title of Baroness with her husband to become rulers of a town called Malrune. Heard of it?”

The tiefling took the book and scanned it over. She reached down to the bowl and ate another spoonful of berries, “So Godric is still doing noble’s dirty work huh?” He barely glanced up at her while she continued. “You’re a mercenary then? Running on your own hoping to make some coin?” 

He set the book down, looking at her quizzically. He was reading her over the same way she had been reading him since he stepped through the door. “Something like that.” He glanced at the book again before asking, “How many names are in here?”

She chewed on her lip for a second thinking of an answer. “I actually don’t know. We’ve been in the business for so long when we meet someone it’s just an automatic process. Hundreds maybe?”

“And who is we exactly?”

“Well, since you came here with such a threatening presence I didn’t really think it necessary to introduce myself.” She extended a small hand in his direction. “Magdalena Elycia Ymara, of Ymara’s Magic Emporium at your service! Call me Maggie, and that’s Callie.” She motioned to the cat still focusing it’s attention on the stranger interacting with it’s mother.

The tiefling took her hand. “Aromarth Zakkhara. A pleasure.” He moved his hand to pet Callie only to be met by her hissing. “Not a fond of tieflings?”

Maggie shrugged, “She hasn’t met that many. But if you’re not trying to kill me anymore, what is it exactly that Godric has you doing? I haven’t heard of him calling on people in years and suddenly I hear he’s got you and some pyromaniac elves knocking off some shitty nobles? And making some generous offerings might I add.” 

Aromarth thought about his answer before saying, “I’m not sure of the business he was in before last night, but it sounds like he’s helping to orchestrate a nobility war. He mentioned that he knew some higher ups, and that he would take care of ruining her financials, but all he contracted me to do is make her death look like an accident.”

“Is that something you’re good at then? You’re gonna bludgeon her with that guitar and call it a hailstorm?” She took the book back and started flipping through it again, looking for Aromarth’s name this time. “Plus if you were any good, you’d already know where and who Breigan is so I’m guessing you’ve been out of the game for a while.”

He nodded, almost impressed. “”I take it you interact with a lot of unseemly characters then.”  

She smirked, “Please I was raised by the queen of them. But I can certainly hold my own if that’s what you’re wondering. This book is practically their bible and I’m it’s prophet.” She stopped at a page with “Aromarth Zakkhara” written at the top. His entry was relatively short, but from reading it, this guy had been out of the game for, seriously seven years? Worked with the Company for about fifteen years before that, pretty good at it too. And yet, for as much as they used him, they dropped him just as quickly and he’s been laying dormant ever since. Hiding at a bar in Eastrunn apparently. No more details than that, for as good as he was he still managed to remain pretty low ranking, even less when he was branded a traitor. Aromarth let out a slight cough, causing Maggie to look up to see he was staring at her.

“If you’ve been around those types I’m sure they’d be smart not to mess with someone of your reputation. Godric mentioned you’re pretty good in a fight.” 

Her shoulders tensed, “Something like that.” She put the book down and cupped her head back on her palm. “But I don’t think Godric would send you to me if he thought you were completely capable of handling this on your own. Call me realistic, but a page in a book doesn’t cost anyone six hundred gold pieces.”

This realization seemed to dawn on him like a child recognizing a skinned knee, shock and a twinge of pain, before some very impressive internal screaming. Through gritted teeth he asked, “And, what makes you think that that is what made him send me to you?” Callie uttered a low growl, sensing his frustration, but a hand from her mother seemed to calm her down. 

“Call me somewhat familiar with the Lady herself. This shop hasn’t always been here and when it was down near Malrune I was privy enough to learn some things that aren’t in the book. That book will tell you things like security and status, but I knew her personally.” At this point she sat back and crossed her arms. “Look, I get that you lone wolf types are a thing but you walked in here without a jacket in autumn and only a name to go off of, how do you think you’re going to get close enough to her to make anything besides your own death look like an accident?”

Aromarth moved close enough to put a hand on the book and with the same frustrated tone said, “It’s Maggie, right? You seem like a nice enough girl, but from the size of this book it looks like you’ve got plenty of other people to meet and details to keep. So if you think you’re important enough to keep all this information, staying alive and out of danger would be in your best interest, don’t you think? And-” His words cut off suddenly as a chill seized his cloven feet. He looked down to see the carpet he was standing on now giving off a frosty air. What started as cold feet was now beginning to spread up his calves, locking them in place, while Maggie hadn’t moved but one of her hands, now performing a dance to it’s own tune. The frost continued as she began to speak.

“It’s Aromarth right? You seem like a nice enough guy, but I’ll be straight with you. If Godric has singled you out, then this shit is only the beginning. Now you’ve just offered me a shit ton of gold which ordinarily wouldn’t peak my interests but that book says that you’ve been AWOL the last seven years. Normally this makes you dispensable, but if you’re in it with Godric, then at the first chance if you don’t die on his mission then he will circle back to finish the job. If you’re involved with this, then there’s probably even less of a chance to go back to whatever boring life you led before last night. Thankfully, you happened to have come across the one person stupid enough to cross him back. So if you aren’t in the mood to die anytime soon, how about we make a deal?”

The frost was beginning to reach his waist, the legs turned to frost, he was panicked, but still hanging on to her every word. “Why would I trust you?” he asked.

Why indeed? Maybe because it was Godric’s information that had caused everything to go to shit in the first place. Maybe because the last time they saw him Mother had threatened to skin him if she ever saw him again. Maybe because anyone who believed that two little girls should be used as a weapons was probably a bad dude. Maybe because he hated cats and always stole useless shit when he thought no one was looking.

“Because for as long as you or I have been alive he has been the chaotic force driving everything to madness for money and fun. Plus anyone who thinks children are an acceptable form of warfare is pretty much the scum of the earth wouldn’t you agree?”

The frost had reached his chest now, and with a final sigh of dissatisfaction, he held out a hand to the stubborn halfling in front of him. “You’re not a fan of giving people choices are you?”

Maggie smiled broadly and shook the hand in front of her. “Never doubt it.” With the words escaping from her lips, the frost immediately began to dissipate, his legs free once again. Sitting up a little straighter and still smiling, a plan now hatching in her small head. “First thing’s first though, Malrune is a few hours away and as hilarious as it would be to watch a tiefling with a guitar and a halfling with a short temper try to storm a castle, it might be a good idea to get some backup.”

He shook some of the lingering snow off of his pants, flashing a glare in her direction, but she was too busy climbing down her stool with her green book under her arm. She swept the curtain aside to run down the small hallway to her room and did a quick sweep over of her room. A checklist of items suddenly appeared in her head: a coat for the guy, probably a few wands, ask Ronaldo to watch over Callie and-

The book.

She looked down at the green book in her hands and held it to her chest. This was mother’s life work, hidden by a blood spell, but nothing was completely invincible. And the shop would be alone, even if only for a few days, rumors of someone asking about them was more than enough cause to protect this book with her life. It had been five years since Godric was last in their lives, but if she could take him out then maybe, just maybe, Mother would give her blessing to even leave the city. A fire twitched in her fingers at the memory of their last interactions with Godric, and a growing sinking feeling grew in her stomach. This, this Aromarth was her chance to prove that she could not only hold her own, but she was worthy of the name Ymara. 

This was her chance. 

And she wasn’t going to give it up.

Throwing clothes, magic trinkets and other supplies in a backpack, carefully placing the green ledger in a special book shaped pouch, Maggie considered the actions she was about to take. The voice of Rhea briefly whispered to her that she could do big things one day. The memory of Nola earlier encouraging her abilities, if nothing else but to be free for a moment. She looked around her small room, every book she had curled up with and every artifact Callie had knocked over all in their places, a thin layer of dust glinting in the sunlight. After about four seconds of consideration, she nodded and turned to go back through the curtain. 

Callie was now sitting at attention, her tail flicking around her, staring at Aromarth, his attention turned to the library. From her perspective it looked like he was in the fantasy section, the same place she’d pulled her book from this morning. “Finding anything interesting?” she asked, adjusting the straps on her backpack. 

He looked back at her startled, a flash of pain across his face disappearing instantly. She decided not to read too much into it, the fact that she had assigned herself to accompany him didn’t sit too well with him, and if he wanted to share it he would eventually.  He gave a tense smile, releasing his fingers from a book on the shelf, facing her full on. He walked down the few stairs to meet her in front of a counter. Looking up, he stood a good two feet taller than her, the horns another three inches on top of that. He didn’t wear shoes (do hooves get cold?) and the dark pants and vest combo probably meant he wasn’t one for fashion, but still there was bound to be something to help him out in the shop. 

“Before we go, there’s a couple of trinkets that could probably help us out somewhere on the shelves over there with the jewelry. You can go pick some out and I’ll tell you what’s junk, I’m gonna go find you a coat.” She turned to a chest hidden behind some of the taller bookshelves and began to rummage for something that would fit.

She heard him creak up the opposite staircase, and a soft thud as Callie jumped from her bed on the counter to rub up against her mother’s leg. She began to purr, and poised herself to jump on her hunched shoulders, she always knew when Maggie was up to something and she loved to involve herself. Maggie laughed and scooped her in her arms, nuzzling her as she continued to purr. Callie gave a sad look of understanding as her mother explained, “You’re going to go hang out with Ronaldo for a few days. And you won’t get lost in the marketplace or pee in any of his plants again this time will you?” She continue to purr as Maggie placed her gently on the ground, continuing to look through the chest until she found it.

“Hey, I think I got something for you!” she called out, grabbing the coat and moving towards the counter. Aromarth had grabbed a box and seemed to have filled it with whatever struck his fancy and placed it on the counter. She climbed onto her stool to examine his findings, and in an impressive feat only one or two of the pieces he picked were actually junk. He looked at the coat she had picked, while Maggie began sorting through the box. Holding up the coat, it was a heavy black wool coat with deep pockets, clearly tailored for someone important, and smelling vaguely of ash. Trying it on, it came to just about his knees and even if it was a little tight, it was a very nice coat.

“What was this doing in a trunk under the stairs?” he asked, readjusting the guitar on his back.

“Well, I don’t know if you know this, but I am small and me walking around in that would just be silly. Plus black isn’t really my color, but it goes nice with your hair.” A lineup of rings and necklaces had begun to take their places on the counter as she spoke. “If I remember correctly, that was one Rhea lifted off of some smuggler last winter who figured out how to make his pockets bottomless. Try putting that jar in there,” she motioned to one of the jars of eyeballs. 

Aromarth looked at the jar and stretched opened one of the pockets. As gently as possible, he pocketed the jar, felt it reach a bottom, and the pocket resumed to its flat position, without feeling any heavier. With an impressed look, he turned back to the counter to see Maggie had grabbed the bag of gold he previously brought her now on the counter being filled with even more coins.

“Just topping it off. Never know which guards we have to bribe.” She pushed it towards her new partner and nodded towards his pocket, which he obliged. She pocketed a few rings and a pair of bracers he had found before motioning to her wares, “Now you my friend have excellent taste. Of what has caught your interest and what’s not junk, the leather band with the silver inlay lets you read in Celestial and Elvish and the necklace with the purple stone makes people slightly more trusting of you and your weird horns. Most of the other stuff is junk, but not a bad haul.” 

She watched him put both on, and seeming satisfied, she jumped back down moving towards the cases to put the rest back in their places. In the cases, to be fair most of it was in fact junk. Either cheap metal or embellishments on whatever blessing they may or may not have had, most of it was just for show and swindling stupid people. This was not to say that everything was completely useless. Particularly when looking underneath the hollowed out skulls on the bottom shelf. Reaching for an old dog skull pushed towards the back, Maggie pulled it and turned it upside down to find a silver circlet folded in on itself with a green gem in its center. She had only worn it once before, and believed that it had been left behind or destroyed by Mother, but Rhea had saved it. Despite everything, she still believed in her baby sister. 

Carefully folding it into place, the circlet blended its seams to reveal a smooth silver band perfectly fit for a halflings head. Maggie placed it over her head, the emerald finding itself just peeking out of her dark brown hair. Walking back down the stairs, she grabbed a well worn brown cloak, clasping it at her neck. Looking up at Aromarth she asked the question she’d wanted to hear for five long years. 

“Are you ready?”


	5. Gather Your Party

The midday sun shone down on the square in the Temple of Heironeous, reflecting off the brass armor of the paladins in training. The sounds of swords clanking and the barking of orders could be heard from beyond the stone wall and down the nearby alleys. The large temple stood the tallest in the city, the steeple sounding the bells on the hour, and the doors open to anyone seeking counsel and training. The followers of Heironeous were dedicated to justice, and while it was known that select members of the clergy were chosen for the city guard, the true talents were sent to the Cobalt City to be a part of the Royal Guard, and this was the goal every paladin was dutifully training towards. 

Nola stood in the center of the training ring surrounded by four trainees with polished shields in front of them. Each of them began to slowly advance, but these were young boys attempting to fight an orc with a two handed sword.The larger one made a quick shove with his shield only to be swept aside by one fell swoop from her sword onto his back. The other two tried to rush their opponent, but their inexperience was no match against another powerful swing from the sword crashing into the shields, pushing them back several feet. One of the two still standing raised his blunted sword and released a rallying cry, and attempted to charge once again. Holding her sword flat , Nola bent her knees in waiting for the perfect moment, and watching as the young boy ducked his head behind his shield, and swung the sword in an upward arc, catching the shield like a ball against a bat sending him sailing back twenty feet into one of the posts of the training circle. With a snap of her neck, the last trainee standing dropped his sword and raised his hands crying out, “Yield!”

In a patio off of the heart of the temple, Bruno was teaching a small class of children in the art of cantrips, today was Light. A small human girl held her hands slightly apart, fingers trembling and face scrunched in concentration as small sparks fizzled between her palms, the full spell just out of reach. Another elf boy held a small, flickering ball of white light in one hand, the other waving wildly above his head to signal to his teacher that he had succeeded. In the back corner, an older half elf boy was focusing intensely on the small orb in his hands and with a gasp, it slowly began to give off different colors to the delight of his younger sister watching with fascination. Bruno laughed with them, their excitement was what made working with the temple of Heironeous worth devoting his time to. Above him, he heard the bells chime noon, and through the window he could see the shape of a very familiar halfling followed by a tiefling walking through the front gate of the temple square.

Looking at all of the soldiers before him, Aromarth was very impressed, even if that was followed by a slight sense of confusion from seeing a child running past him from the gate to a room off of the main temple. Maggie walked with a purpose into the training grounds, the sounds of metal clanging unphasing. Quickly scanning the scene, she spotted the familiar sight of Nola surrounded by unworthy challengers, but didn’t see Bruno, probably with the kids, she thought. 

“Are you sure we’re going to find mercenaries at a temple for justice?” Aromarth asked. The Company didn’t exactly encourage religious services, but there were some who felt better asking for forgiveness after brutally massacring a target, even if they were only to wake up the next morning and do it again. Xiomara even mentioned in passing once fond memories of attending services with her parents and how she would have loved to take-

A sudden pain on his heart like a vice grip made it difficult to breathe, giving him pause as he focused on the children running past. He opened his mouth to speak but found himself cut off with a wave of Maggie’s hand.

“I don’t know about mercs, but I know people who are good at what they do who just might be interested in the same cause we are.” She turned to look at her companion, standing perfectly still, focused intently on something a thousand yards away. She took a few steps towards him, his gaze unfaltering, and lightly touched his hand. “You okay?”

Aromarth flinched, recoiling his hand at the unfamiliar touch. He looked down to see a concerned look on Maggie’s face as he realized what she had seen. He shook his head and nodded at her to continue. She raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Motioning her head towards the fighting ring, he could see what appeared to be four people in basic metal plate holding shields bearing the symbol of a hand holding a lightning bolt hammered into the brass. They held in their other hand a blunted short sword, some of them trembling slightly, and they were all slowly advancing on a large orc woman bearing an even larger double edged greatsword with both hands. 

Raising a hand to the holy symbol around her neck, she let out a cry and a flash of holy energy enveloped her in it’s light, causing the “soldiers” around her to fly back, crashing into the posts of the ring with a loud clang. As the light dissipated, the orc woman looked as though she was very gently lifted off of the ground, her long black braid suspended behind her and a look of peace on her face. The light faded and with her feet back on the ground, she held the sword out at her side, and grinned at one soldier behind her who had managed to cast an opaque bubble around themselves before the energy swept them away. 

The soldier dropped the spell, looking shakily around themselves before removing their helmet with a grin stretched from ear to ear. The orc woman laughed and clapped a hand on their shoulder saying in a loud voice, “Excellent work Tamara! Pretty soon there will be no attack able to strike you down!”

The young lady said something in response, before noticing the halfling hanging on the post of the ring. She whispered to the orc woman, who turned and smiled to see Maggie hanging off of the top post and said to the men on the floor, “Take five recruits, go polish your amulets and actually prepare your spells for today.” The recruits stood upright, dusted themselves off and left the ring single file, a few congratulating the one successful recruit as they left, while the orc woman crossed her arms on the top wooden beam of the ring, making her eye level with Maggie. She smirked at her, before looking over Aromarth behind her. “Didn’t expect to see you while the sun’s still up. Who’s your friend Mags?”

“Someone who has just brought us some very interesting weekend plans. Where’s Bruno?” 

The orc woman pointed to the room he had seen a small child run towards when they first walked in. “He’s in with the little ones doing cantrips,” she turned her head towards Aromarth, “Call me Nola, and you are?”

“Someone wondering what the fuck we’re doing here.” 

Maggie rolled her eyes. “Get to know each other, I’m gonna go find Bruno.” She jumped down from the post and went in the direction she pointed, calling over her shoulder, “And grab the big sword!”

Orc’s were not terribly common in large cities, and a holy orc was almost completely unheard of yet here was this Nola, paladin of Heironeous, and judging by the recruits she knocked flat on their backs, very very dangerous. She towered over Aromarth by almost half a foot, greatsword still in one hand, eyes focused on him now. Clearing his throat, he looked up at her to match her gaze. She shrugged, put the sword on her back and motioned for him to follow her. 

“So you’re a friend of Penelope’s?”

“I have no idea who that is.” 

She raised an eyebrow but said nothing, still walking towards a house like structure not far from the training ring. She reached the door, opening it to reveal a bunker for the recruits, with ten beds lined up against the wooden walls, each with a trunk at the foot. She walked past, Aromarth trailing behind her, up a set of stairs to a long hallway lined with multiple rooms behind closed doors to a specific door marked “Nola” in loopy handwriting at the very end of the hallway. Pulling a key from her belt loop, she unlocked the door to her room. 

Against the wall, an unlit fireplace surrounded by stones sat still, a well loved rocking chair in front of it and a neatly folded bed tucked into the corner with an identical chest to the ones downstairs at it’s foot. A nightstand with a half burned candle and a leather bound journal stood next to the bed, a journal keeper, he noted. Looking around, the room was mostly bare, with only a writing desk sat next to the window on the far wall having any touch of a personality. On the top of the desk was a framed drawing of two smiling orcs, and a smaller, more worn holy symbol laying gently against the frame. Nola ignored most of it and turned to to a large closet near the door. She pointed at the chair as she began to rifle through, looking for something in particular. 

“You were at the bar last night weren’t you bard?” Aromarth shifted in his seat, but Nola continued, “Does this have something to do with the elves or the gnome?”

“The gnome. He told me to find your friend and get some information on someone he was interested in and she claims she’s got personal ties that make her valuable enough to bring with me. Do you have any idea what she knows about him that’s making her up and leave everything exactly?” He watched her shrug as she began to pull pieces of brass armor over her training tunic.

“Dunno, she hasn’t mentioned him for as long as I’ve known her which in all fairness isn’t really that long.” She readjusted the holy symbol on top of the plate and searched further in the closet for presumably a non blunted weapon. “Where are we scurrying off to for this important mission? Hmm, aha!” She gasped in excitement and began to pull on a two handed handle sticking out of the closet, apparently stuck on something in the back. Planting one foot on the base of the closet, she wrapped both hands on the handle and with a firm yank, revealed a long cruel looking orcish blade faintly stamped with runes in a language Aromarth couldn’t read. She smiled before explaining, “It was mom’s. Kind of scares recruits so I only bring it out for special occasions.”

Hesitantly, Aromarth stood from the rocking chair and cleared his throat. “I can see why she called you. We’re going down to Malrune, ever been?”

She placed the sword on her back, rubbing the symbol around her neck. “Passed through on my way here a few years back. We taking down some bad guys?”

This time Aromarth flashed a smirk, yellow eyes shining. “That’s what I do best.”

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“Come on Bruno we need you! Who else is gonna heal me when I fall down a bookcase?”

“That was one time and you passed me over for Callie and a nap.”

Maggie sighed as Bruno crossed his arms. It was hard to argue with him as a young dwarf boy balanced on his shoulders, but the impatient look on his face made it easier to focus. The boy’s face was scrunched tightly as he held his two small hands out in front of him attempting to cast the spell of the day. A few sparks would click but he couldn’t get the full sphere to take shape, so in an attempt to pacify him, Maggie waved her fingers and cast fairy lights dancing around his head like a celestial crown. The boy paused from his concentration to look around him and his face lit up, his smile stretching from ear to ear, and squealed as he reached out to grab them with his small hands. Bruno reached up to grab the boy, placing him on the ground as the lights followed, circling his head as they led him towards the rest of his classmates. 

Bruno put a hand to his temple, “Look Mags, I know I promised that I’d go with you when you finally went off on your big adventure, but getting yourself killed on some asshole’s dime is probably a really bad idea that will not end well. This guy just shows up and wants to take down some lady, that’s fine but if you get involved and it all goes south, your mom is gonna kill you if you don’t get yourself killed first and that’s something that nobody wants.”

Maggie put her hands on her hips and pouted her lips. For as long as she’d known him Bruno had always been reasonable, but could also be persuaded if the cause was right. Nola knew that she wouldn’t go after someone without just cause, but Bruno had known loss and it made him hesitant to risk anyone if he didn’t have to. It’s what made him such a good teacher, whatever he did, he did it with a full devotion and a full heart. He had to come, it wouldn’t be the same without him.

She took his hands and looked up into his eyes. “Bruno, I need this. If there’s any chance of proving to Mother that I can at the very least cripple this asshole that’s been tailing us for years, then maybe I won’t have to live the rest of my life manning the counter in that stupid shop. Now this guy is a loner and that’s why Godric recruited him, but if I get involved then he can really get it through his stupid head that I’m not gonna be fucked with!”

“Language.”

“Sorry. Look, I told you what happened ok? If he’s back on his shi-  _ stuff _ , then what Aromarth is after is probably just the beginning. Nola is a good person, she’d only come if we were going after some really corrupt people and that’s who these guys are. All we need is to get enough intel on what Godric’s up to, then we’ll be done but we’re not going without you. It’ll only be a few days and they won’t even know you’re gone, come on please?”

“Mags, your mom will burn this whole city to the ground if anything happens to you,” he groaned. 

She thought about that before smiling and said, “Well, you’ll just have to keep me safe won’t you?”

He groaned again. “Nola’s already getting her stuff isn’t she.” 

“If you hurry, I’ll convince her to talk to the High Priest so we can sneak out like we used to.” 

Fighting with her was a losing battle, so he sighed, gave a smile, and tapped the emerald centered on her forehead. “Where’d you pull this from, I thought all you had in that shop was junk?”

She grinned back, “Not entirely. Which reminds me,” fumbling with a pouch at her side, Maggie pulled a golden finger cuff with a hammered finish out and held it to the man in front of her. He looked down at the ring in her small hand, one eyebrow raised before she continued, “The only commitment I want from you is that you don’t leave me bleeding on some noble’s floor. Consider this a gift.” She placed it in his palm, wrapping his fingers around it as he studied the shine on the circlet surrounding her dark curly hair. Perhaps it was the sun, or a trick of the light, but the gem seemed to shimmer as she pushed his hand back towards him, taking a step back.

“I’m gonna go catch up with Nola and Aromarth while you pack your stuff. We’ll take care of the High Priest, you go get all the stuff you think could be useful.” She let go of his hands, his fingers lingering in hers as she turned back towards the fighting ring. Opening his palm, the golden cuff looked mostly unremarkable, but placing it on his finger, a brief surge of power shuddered through him as he took a deep breath. Looking back into the stained glass window lined room and seeing fifteen small children finally getting a hold of their cantrips, Bruno clapped his hands together and said, “Who wants a three day weekend?”

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Aromarth leaned against one of the wooden posts of the training ring followed by Nola wearing her impeccably shined brass Templar armor, orc sword strapped to her back. Maggie strode out from the classroom to meet them on the now more empty training grounds. Aromarth shifted the guitar on his back, uncomfortable with his surroundings, a motion Maggie pointedly ignored. She looked up instead at Nola, pulling the final straps on her armor.

“Did he tell you where we’re going?”

Nola finished fidgeting, finally satisfied. “Malrune. That gnome I saw last night turned out to be some trouble after all?” She lay the holy symbol flat on her breastplate and looked to Maggie’s nod, indicating her correct guess.

“As happy as I am that you’re more than willing to join us on this stupid mission, the only thing left to do is wait for our dear dear Bruno. You’re sure the High Priest is ok with this?” Maggie glanced at Nola’s wrists, now bearing a pair of golden bracers matching her armor very nicely if she might add. 

“Taking down evil assholes and rude people is what we’re all about here Maggie, you know that. Any chance presents itself to fulfill that quest, well, I’d be a pretty poor paladin to turn it down.” As she finished, Bruno walked out from the recruit’s bunker wearing similar brass plated armor if only a little smaller. A large golden shield was strapped to his back with a short sword strapped to his side, the familiar holy symbol hanging around his neck.

Nola whistled as he approached the group, a blush creeping on his cheeks. “Lookin’ good short stuff. I can’t remember the last time I saw you in full regalia.”

Bruno pulled at the collar of the breastplate. “Yeah, let’s not make it a habit.” He gave a quick nod to Aromarth who reciprocated, before looking to Maggie. “You got a plan Mags?”

Maggie in turn, looked to Aromarth before beginning, “Malrune is a few hours walking distance away, but I’m sure if we ask nicely around the market, someone with a wagon would be willing to give us a ride.”

“We can stay at an inn there in town while we plan how to get into castle itself. A motley crew like this will almost certainly lead to some stares, but if you’re willing to let me use my talents and not coddle me,” Aromarth shot a pointed look at the halfling looking up to him, “then we can all get what we came for and we can all go our separate ways by the next sunset.”

Maggie gave a curt nod. “Right, we get in, get out, get on with our lives.”

Nola tilted her head, “The farm where we stole the horses from had a wagon.”

“How much money did you bring Mags?” 

“Enough to compensate probably. Who knows how to drive a cart?” She looked around to see everyone look at each other expectantly. “Okay, so we’ll figure it out. How far is the farm Nola?”

“Maybe a half a mile outside the south wall?”

Aromarth adjusted his guitar and turned to walk towards the exit calling over his shoulder, “Then let’s get moving.” 


End file.
